I Went to Wisconsin and All I Got Was This Lousy Lyme Disease
Monday, October 20, 2008
EWWWWW! Guess what I found nestled cozily IN MY LEG this morning?!
Yup, I was minding my own business, trying to face the spectre that is Monday morning with a nice, hot shower, when I noticed that my leg hurt. Then I saw what looked like a big ol' scab.
Then I noticed it had legs.
Carefully finishing shaving my legs (one must keep one's priorities, of course), I dried off and ran to shake The Husband out of sleep. He bravely (if incoherently) pulled it off and I limped over to the computer to google "deer ticks" and "Lyme Disease".
So, of course, today has been one psychosomatic fever chill and mild paralysis attack after another. I've already worked out how I'll go on long term disability and figured out my work-from-bed schedule as I recuperate from a debilitating disease, so I think we're good to go.
Said tick bite actually came about in a fairly fun fashion. We went to Eau Claire, Wisconsin yesterday to visit a church that our current church started a few years ago. The entire junior Sunday School class plus parents went, which swelled their membership to double the size, I think.
Then we got to visit the homestead belonging to the pastoral couple for lunch. The Boy and The Girl had oodles of fun feeding corn and grass to the hens and the goats. I realized that goat cheese smells, oddly enough, of goats. Funny how I don't mind it in small doses.
So, a good time was had by all. Including the deer tick, who caught a ride home in my clothes and enjoyed the sweet taste of my blood before shuffling off this mortal coil.
Oh, and for some reason the tick was dead when I found it. So a) I have toxic blood or b) the disease it carried overwhelmed even its disease-ridden body. I'll keep you posted.
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3 comments:
You made me laugh out loud - your plight with the deer tick paranoia was all too familiar...I have a husband who quite quickly convinces himself that a rash is actually flesh eating disease. Several times a summer he's positive that he has contracted West Nile Virus (although, he might be right about that one with the hordes of mosquitoes that infest our home-sweet-swamp).
You're not alone. :)
I'm SURE it keeled over because your blood was just too sweet ;)
And, a quote from Minnesota State Health Department to ease your paranoia (can paranoia BE eased?):
"If the blacklegged tick is infected, it must be attached for 24-48 hours before it transmits Lyme disease".
So it probably wasn't even there long enough to have a chance.
That *does* make me feel better! Both that other people are as crazy as I am (does he plan your funeral everytime you're late coming home, too?) and about the bite. Which seems to be getting better. Although I have had mild, flu-like symptoms (including fatigue) all week, so I'm not *ahem* out of the woods yet.
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